0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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Explanation
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ache
I heard the news today, oh boy
Although this is frequently given as "ache," it's more likely that the correct word is "shake." This makes more sense in context, describing general anxiety or withdrawal symptoms.
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It took him minutes, took her nowhere
This is a delicate way of describing their brief sexual interaction. The young man finished quickly, while the young woman was left, in a word, disappointed.
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This fire is hot
And my fells can feed
And you still got that bell
Dragging your foot
I'm hiding it well sister Ernesty
But still got that bell dragging my foot
These lyrics are wildly incorrect as compared with the lyrics given in the liner notes of the original CD release.
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We danced in graveyards
With vampires till dawn
A curious image, this pairing evokes a contradicting statement in issue #17 of Neil Gaiman's Sandman, in which Richard Madoc, rambling and overcome by a torrent of ideas, declares that "vampires don't dance."



Though Amos and Gaiman have been friends for decades and have a history of alluding to one another's works, it unclear if this line is indeed a reference to Gaiman's writing, or vice versa. It may simply be that the two artists conjured similar imagery.
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Take me, for a meanwhile I'm still thinking
This line is a reference to Chuck Berry's song Little Queenie recorded in 1958. In that song, the phrase appears first as "Meanwhile I was thinkin'" and again as "Meanwhile, I was still thinkin, hmmmm."
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I held the blade in trembling hands
A stark statement of anguish, the narrator is moments away from slashing his wrists (or throat, perhaps), interrupted only by a timely phone call.



Much of Pink Floyd's work under Roger Waters deals with theme of hopelessness and despair, often leading to transformation of the character or sublimation of the trauma into some artistic expression.
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Making love to girls in magazines
This is a not-so-subtle euphemism for masturbation. The magazines in question are likely pornographic, or they simply show attractive women whom the narrator deems unattainable.

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If you negotiate the minefield in the drive
And beat the dogs and cheat the cold electronic eyes
And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall
Dial the combination
These multiple layers of protection are metaphors for the psychological defense mechanisms that the narrator has erected to shield him from emotional harm and, by extension, to prevent him from forming deep emotional attachments to others.
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priesthole
A priest hole is a hidden chamber where a priest was able to hide during the time when Catholics were persecuted by law in England. Dates from the 16th century.



The context here is a small chamber in which the narrator can hide to escape persecution in his life.

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She's so good, it make
A dead man c
This is a line originally appearing Lucille Bogan's recording of Shave 'Em Dry, in 1935. A "dirty blues" song, the piece was recorded and performed by various artists, but Bogan's rendition is the most notorious for its unapologetically explicit content.
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We can live like Jack and Sally if we want
Where you can always find me
And we'll have Halloween on Christmas
The above explanations are obviously correct, rightly identifying "Jack and Sally" as the characters from Nightmare Before Christmas.



However...



The names also evoke "Jack and Sally" Simmons from the 1992 film "Husbands and Wives." Here, the characters are unfulfilled in a marriage long devoid of passion. They separate but ultimately decide that they're happier together than apart, and they reunite for the sake of comfort and companionship.



Although this is almost(!) certainly not the intended reference, I can't help thinking about it every time I hear the song.
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The wire that holds the cork
This is the line as given in the album's liner notes, but on the recording the line is "the rusty wire that holds the cork."

The difference is small but significant; "rusty" implies weakens through decay, ultimately allowing the cork to burst free under pressure.
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nine-inch nails
Looks like I got this wrong. The story about Reznor naming the band after the length of crucifixion nails is apocryphal. Reznor himself states that he picked the name in part because it would abbreviate well.
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Vera Lynn
A popular singer (102 years old at the time of this posting!) whose outdoor concerts entertained British troops overseas during World War ii. An impressive figure, Ms. Lynn has spent much of her life in charitable works for veterans, disabled children, and the fight against breast cancer.

The narrator here refers to Lynn's 1939 recording of "We'll Meet Again, " a song that was hugely popular during the war, and which later famously played over the nuclear montage at the end of the film Dr. Strangelove.
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fridge
This word is often mistakenly shown as "fridge," when in fact it tells how the young male character "pulled (his car) in just behind the bridge," where he plans to have sex with the female character.
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the nazz
This is a multi-layered reference, evoking Todd Rundgren's band "Nazz" as well as the Yardbirds' song "The Nazz are Blue," from which Rundgren's band took its name. The latter is in turn a retelling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth.

The term also alludes to "The Nazz," a monologue by Lord Buckley (1906 - 1960) that tells of a supremely cool Christ-like "carpenter kitty" who worked miracles.

This last reference seems the most relevant in the context of the song, with Bowie describing Ziggy both as a "leper messiah" and a "cat from Japan."
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The crops of few, the cattle gun
A cattle gun is the an air-powered device for driving a metal shaft into the skull of an animal to be slaughtered. One version of the tool famously appeared in No Country For Old Men. Although this item certainly exists, it makes no sense in context here.

The actual phrase is "the crops are few, the cattle gone," and it is a statement of the impending famine due to vast overcrowding. This correct phrase is much more consistent with the tone and message of the overall song.
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a you. S. Marine
I keep seeing this as "saw a you. S. Marine" instead of the obviously correct "saw a U.S. Marine." I would love for someone to tell me what a you. S. Marine is.
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maggie what
This refers to Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Falkland conflict, the brief, undeclared war between Argentina and the UK lasting from April until June of 1982.

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nips
An ethnic slur referring to Japanese people, a derogatory shortened form of "Nippon," another name for Japan. It was in particular a deliberately insulting term for Japanese people during World War II.

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The yards would still be open on the clyde
Refers the shipbuilding yards along the River Clyde in Scotland. Of major industrial and strategic importance to the British Empire and navy, the yards saw a steep decline in the years following World War II, in part due to competition with Japanese ship manufacturers.
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[woman:] "When was it that you saw his name on the memorial?"
[Alf:] "Ah, when I was eighty-seven, that would be the year
This closing monologue, and this passage in particular, contrasts sharply with the overall theme of the album, which is a harsh criticism of the casual, arm's-length nature of war as fought by the west. In modern conflict, the viewer at home knows nothing of the horror faced on the battlefield or by civilians caught in the crossfire.

Razzell's account here reveals that he agonized for nearly his entire life over his decision he'd had to made seven decades before.

War is indeed hell, and there are no "great" wars, but Razzell's tale shows us how direct, personal involvement in war has changed and sanitized by the media's portrayal of it.
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Johnny
Can refer either to a bottle of Johnny Walker Red or else to an anonymous male whom the narrator takes to her motel room.
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Jezebeled
In biblical mythology, Jezebel drove her husband King Ahab away from the worship of Yahweh and persecuted his prophets. As punishment, she was thrown from a window and eaten alive by stray dogs.
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picked apart like Prometheus
Refers to Prometheus, a titan of Greek mythology, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. As punishment, he was chained to a rock, where his his liver was torn out by an eagle. The liver would regenerate and the eagle would return again to tear it out each day for eternity.
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